Robert Jessup (b. 1952, Moscow, Idaho) is an American painter recognized for a career spanning more than four decades of exploration between figuration and abstraction. Raised in Seattle, Washington, he received his BFA in Painting from the University of Washington in 1975 and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1979.

Throughout his career, Jessup’s work has evolved through several distinct phases. His earlier paintings were often large-scale figurative compositions charged with psychological tension, symbolic imagery, and heavily textured surfaces. Since the early 2010s, his practice has increasingly embraced abstraction, emphasizing gesture, movement, color, and improvisation while maintaining the emotional intensity that has long defined his work.

Known for energetic surfaces, bold chromatic relationships, and dynamic spatial structures, Jessup’s paintings balance instinct and control, creating compositions that feel both visceral and lyrical. His recent works explore an increasingly fluid and improvisational approach to painting, driven by what the artist describes as “the chase of desire that is painting.”

Jessup taught painting and drawing at numerous major institutions including Ohio State University, Georgia State University, Cornell University, the Hartford Art School, and the University of North Texas, where he served as Professor of Painting and Drawing and later became Professor Emeritus.

His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally, including exhibitions at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Conduit Gallery, Fay Gold Gallery, Schomburg Gallery, and Besharat Gallery.

Jessup’s paintings are included in numerous public and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, and the University of Virginia Art Museum.

Robert Jessup currently lives and works in Denton, Texas.

Source: Besharat Gallery & Museum

Born in Moscow, Idaho, and raised in Seattle, Washington, Robert Jessup received his BFA from the University of Washington in 1975 and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1979.

His work has been exhibited extensively since 1981 and is in numerous private and public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the University of Virginia, the University of Texas, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

He was a Professor Emeritus from the University of North Texas where he taught painting in the College of Visual Arts and Design from 1991 to 2018. His work is represented by the Conduit Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

In 2019, Jessup and his wife, Faith Scott Jessup, moved to Whidbey Island, Washington.

1952Born in Moscow, Idaho

1958
Family moved to Seattle, WA

1970-1971
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

1971-1975
University of Washington, Seattle; BA in Art History, BFA in Painting

1976-1978
University of Iowa, Iowa City; MFA in Painting

1980-1981
Artist-in Residence Grant, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM

1981-1982
Lecturer, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

1982-1983
Assistant Professor, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

1983-1986
Assistant Professor, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

1989-1990
Visiting Adj. Prof. Hartford Art School, Univ. of Hartford, Hartford, CT

1990-1991
Assistant Professor, Hartford Art School, Univ. of Hartford, Hartford, CT

1991-1996
Assistant Prof., School of Visual Arts, University of North Texas, Denton

1997- 2008
Associate Prof., School of Visual Art, University of North Texas, Denton

2009-2018
Professor, College of Visual Arts and Design, University of North Texas, Denton

2013-2014
Faculty Fellow, Institute for the Advancement of the Arts, University of North Texas, Professor Emeritus


Solo Exhibitions
2019Square, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, Feb 23 to March 30

2018
Square, Denton Center for the Visual Arts, Denton , TX, Feb to May

2017
Robert Jessup Retrospective:1985 to 2014, Conduit Gallery,Dallas, TX, July 27 to Aug 2
New Paitnings, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, May 13 to June 9

2015
New Paintings, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, May. 2015

2014
New Paintings, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX, May 10-June 28
New Paintings, McMurtrey Gallery, Micro Space, Houston, TX, Feb 22-March 8

2013
New Pictures and Stories, Conduit Gallery,Dallas, Jan 12-Feb 16

2012
"New Paintings and Drawings", Besharat Gallery, Atlanta, GA, March 21 -April 21

2011
"New Paintings and Drawings:", McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX, June 4-July 1
"New Work", Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, Feb. 19 - March 26

2009
"Robert Jessup,Themes and Stories: A Selection of Paintings from the Last Decade", Longview Museum of Fine Art, Longview TX, May 9-June 27
"Creatures: New Paintings by Robert Jessup", Conduit Gallery, Dallas TX, Feb 21 - March 21

2008
"Robert Jessup: New Paintings", Ober Gallery, Kent, CT, June 25 - July 30
"Robert Jessup: New Paintings" McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX, Sept 8-Oct 13

Source:Website of the artist, 2020